Day: July 2, 2021

Posted on

Men’s central contract list 2021-22 announced

Lahore, July 02, 2021 (PPI-OT):Following the Governing Board’s approval of the 2021-22 fiscal year’s budget, the PCB today announced an enhanced and performance-based central contract list 2021-22 for 20 elite men cricketers, including three emerging cricketers, in which match fee across all formats has been equalised.

The list was finalised by the panel that comprised Director – International Cricket, Zakir Khan, chief selector Muhammad Wasim and Director – High Performance, Nadeem Khan, who also consulted head coach Misbah-ul-Haq and captain Babar Azam as part of the process. The provisional list was then shared with Chief Executive Wasim Khan, before it was approved by PCB Chairman Mr Ehsan Mani.

The 12-month contracts will run from 1 July 2021 to 30 June 2022.

Men’s central contract list 2021-22 is (reduced from 21 to 20):

Category A – Babar Azam, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Rizwan and Shaheen Shah Afridi

Category B – Azhar Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Fawad Alam, Shadab Khan and Yasir Shah

Category C – Abid Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Nawaz, Nauman Ali and Sarfaraz Ahmed

Emerging Category – Imran Butt, Shahnawaz Dahani and Usman Qadir

Upward revisions to the central contracts include:

25 percent increase in Category A retainer; no increase in Test, ODI and T20I match fee

25 percent increase in Category B retainer; Test match fee increased by 15 percent, ODI match fee increased by 20 percent and T20I match fee increased by 25 percent

25 percent increase in Category C retainer; 34 percent increase in Test match fee, 50 percent increase in ODI match fee, 67 percent increase in T20I match fee

15 percent increase in Emerging Category retainer; 34 percent increase in Test match fee, 50 percent increase in ODI match fee, 67 percent increase in T20I match fee

In the central contract list 2021-22, Hasan Ali and Mohammad Rizwan have been offered Category A. Hasan Ali had missed out on the contract last year due to an injury but following his stellar performance in the 2020-21 as well as looking ahead to the 2021-22 season, he has been placed in Category A. Rizwan has been rewarded for his consistent performance across all formats by moving him from Category B to Category A.

Likewise, Faheem Ashraf, Fawad Alam, Mohammad Nawaz and Nauman Ali have also been offered central contracts in recognition of their contributions and performances in the 2020-21 season.

Haris Rauf and Mohammad Hasnain, who were in the Emerging Category last year, have been promoted to Category C, while youngsters Imran Butt, Shahnawaz Dahani and Usman Qadir have been placed in Emerging Category.

Players missing out on the central contracts include Asad Shafiq, Haider Ali, Haris Sohail, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Abbas, Naseem Shah, Shan Masood and Usman Shinwari. However, they remain firmly in the selectors’ plan for the season ahead and have the opportunity to earn contracts for the 2022-23 season, subject to performances during the 2021-22 season.

PCB Chief Executive Wasim Khan: “Selecting 20 players amongst a big pool of quality cricketers is always a challenging task. I would like to thank the panel for their diligent work in selecting the 2021-22 central contract list against an agreed criteria.

“In the new list, we have seen eight new players emerge who have now gained central contracts. Due to the competitive nature of the central contract system nine players who had contracts in 2020-21 have sadly missed out on this occasion. The door remains firmly open for these players and they will continue to remain in the plans of the selectors.

“Emerging Category recognises and rewards the up and coming talent. We have seen the emergence of Haris Rauf and Mohammad Hasnain move from an Emerging Category to Category C, and the likes of Imran Butt, Shahnawaz Dahani and Usman Qadir breaking into the Emerging Category. The Emerging Category remains a platform for young players to break into the central contract system.

“The equalisation of match fees means that all players who walk out together to represent Pakistan will receive the same match fees irrespective of which category they are in, or whether they have a central contract or not.

“Despite the challenging economic climate, we as the Pakistan Cricket Board believe that it is important to continue to show advancement in the value of central contracts. In the last two years, we have seen significant progress in central contract payments and we will remain committed to the principle of improving the value of contracts year-on-year.”

For more information, contact:
Media Manager,
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB)
Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore 54600, Pakistan
Tel: +92-42-5717231-4
Fax: +92-42-5711860
Website: www.pcb.com.pk

Posted on

3 in 10 Pakistanis think that the Kashmir issue should be resolved through talks with India; people in Punjab most likely (34%) to have this opinion: Gallup and Gilani Pakistan

Islamabad, July 02, 2021 (PPI-OT):According to a survey conducted by Gallup and Gilani Pakistan, 30% Pakistanis think that the Kashmir issue should be resolved through talks with India.

A nationally representative sample of adult men and women from across the four provinces was asked the following question, “How do you think the Kashmir Dispute should be resolved?” In response to this question, 30% of Pakistanis said through “talks with India”, 14% said “through the United Nations”, 12% said “through war”, 4% said, “silence is better”, 3% said “Kashmiris should take the first stand” and 28% said they “don’t know.” 8% did not respond.

Question: “How do you think the Kashmir Dispute should be resolved?”

For more information, contact:
Head Office,
Gallup Pakistan
Islamabad, Pakistan
Tel: +92-51-8445080
Email: isb@gallup.com.pk, caf@gallup.com.pk
Website: www.gallup.com.pk

Posted on

Sindh Assembly passes four government bills

Islamabad, July 02, 2021 (PPI-OT): The Provincial Assembly of Sindh passed four government bills on Friday and admitted an adjournment motion for debate, observes Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) in its Daily Factsheet.

Following are key observations of the House proceedings during 20th sitting of the 21st session:

Members’ Participation

The House met for an hour and 50 minutes.

The sitting started at 03:15 pm against the scheduled time of 02:00 pm.

The speaker chaired the entire proceedings.

The deputy speaker was not present.

The leaders of the House (Chief Minister) and the opposition did not attend the sitting.

As many as 38 MPAs (23 percent) were present at the outset and 23 (14 percent) at the adjournment of the sitting.

The parliamentary leaders of PPPP, MQM and TLP were present, while GDA, MMAP and PTI leaders did not attend the sitting.

Six out of nine minority lawmakers attended the proceedings.

Output

Moved by Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, the House passed four government bills including the Sindh Terms of Employment (Standing Orders) (Amendment) Bill, 2021; the Sindh Employees Social Security (Amendment) Bill, 2021; the Ziauddin University Examination Board (Amendment) Bill, 2021 and the Ziauddin University (Amendment) Bill, 2021. Earlier, the House passed a motion to suspend rules for immediate consideration of these bills.

Representation and Responsiveness

Five out of seven starred questions were taken up during the question hour. In addition, the lawmakers asked 27 supplementary questions.

Minister for Energy responded to two calling attention notices (CANs) regarding unscheduled load shedding of gas and electricity in Sindh.

A CAN related to Ministry of Local Government was deferred due to absence of Minister while another notice regarding encroachment in SITE Area, Karachi was lapsed due to mover’s absence.

The House did not consider a privilege motion due to absence of relevant mover, while the Chair admitted an adjournment motion for discussion in next sitting related to prolonged gas load shedding for domestic consumers.

Order and Institutionalization

Lawmakers belonging to PTI did not attend the sitting.

The House was adjourned to meet again on Monday, July 5, 2021 at 02:00 pm.

Transparency

‘Orders of the Day’ was available to the legislators, observers and public.

The attendance of lawmakers was not available to the media and observers.

For more information, contact:

Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN)

FAFEN Representative

FAFEN Secretariat 224, Margalla Road F-10/3 – Islamabad

Tel: +92-51-2211026

Fax: +92-51-2211047

Cell: +92-321-5017355, +92-301-8549188

Email: media@fafen.org

URL: www.fafen.org

Posted on

Mohammad Rizwan: The keeper-bat who had a phenomenal one year

Derby, July 02, 2021 (PPI-OT): Mohammad Rizwan, hailing from Peshawar is a wicketkeeper-batsman who made his white-ball debut in the series against Bangladesh in Bangladesh in April 2015, while he made his debut in the Test cricket against New Zealand at Hamilton in November 2016.

Earlier in his career, Rizwan had never been a regular feature in the national team, but since 2020, the right-handed batsman has been a permanent feature in the team. He captained the side in the tw0-match Test series against New Zealand in December/January 2020-21 in the absence of regular captain Babar Azam, who was unavailable due to finger injury.

Even though Pakistan lost both Test matches, but Rizwan remained Pakistan’s highest run-getter in the Test series. He scored 202 at 50.50 with three half-centuries from four innings. He also took four catches behind the stumps.

Rizwan has featured in 15 Tests for Pakistan, where he has scored 820 runs at 43.15 with six half-centuries and one hundred. He has 38 dismissals to his name which included 37 catches and one stumping. Since last year, Rizwan has featured in 10 Tests, where he has scored 605 runs at 46.53, which included one hundred and five half-centuries. Behind the stumps, he has 24 dismissals to his name which included 23 catches and one stumping. Amongst Pakistan’s batsman, only Azhar Ali has scored more runs 694 at 49.57, with two hundreds and as many half-centuries from 10 Tests.

In 38 ODIs played so far, Rizwan has scored 772 runs at 28.59, with two hundreds and three half-centuries to his name. He has taken 34 catches and has one stumping. Since 1 May 2020, he has featured in six ODIs, scoring 67 runs. He has taken five catches behind the wickets during this period.

Similarly, he has played 36 T20Is, where he has scored 843 runs at 44.36, one hundred and six half-centuries to his name. He has 18 catches and six stumping to his name in this format. Since last year, in 20 T20Is, he has scored 663 runs at 82.87 which included one hundred and six half-centuries. Behind the wickets, he has 19 scalps to his name which includes 15 catches and four stumpings.

Since 1 May 2020, the wicketkeeper-batsman has featured in 33 international matches across all formats, where has scored a staggering 1320 runs at 50.76, with two hundreds and 11 half-centuries.

The runs scored in the year makes him only the second player in the world, only 12 runs behind his teammate and captain Babar who has scored 1332 runs at 45.93 from 29 international matches, where he struck three hundreds and 10 half-centuries.

Amongst the wicketkeepers, England’s Jos Butler tops the list with 59 dismissals to his account from 26 matches, while Rizwan is second on the list with 43 dismissals (38 catches, five stumpings).

Overall in 89 international matches played so far Rizwan has 97 dismissals to his name which include 89 catches and eight stumpings.

While talking to Fakhar Zaman exclusively for PCB’s Digital, Mohammad Rizwan said:

“I always enjoyed batting but unfortunately couldn’t perform well in this department at the start of my international career, but change in batting order has favoured me a lot. Current team management has shown their confidence by promoting my batting order and I tried to capitalize it well.

“At the start of my international career, no one believed that I could hit long sixes but off course I worked on my hard hitting ability.

“I was fortunate enough to get tips from Mohammad Hafeez, Mushtaq Ahmed and Shahid Afridi. Once Ramiz Raja was walking beside the nets and he asked me to keep the head still, which helped me a lot.

“As a wicketkeeper-batsman, Test cricket requires commitment from me and if you are a cricketer and featuring in all three formats, you must have great fitness.

“I have worked really hard on my batting and wicket-keeping skills before the tour of England last year. In England, the conditions were tough and the red ball swings late, so to get command over it, you have to work extra hard on it.

“In white-ball cricket, English conditions are favourable to score runs on board. If you stay longer on the wicket, you will get more out of it. I have worked on it and will try to implement this in the forthcoming series.”

For more information, contact:

Media Manager,

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB)

Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore 54600, Pakistan

Tel: +92-42-5717231-4

Fax: +92-42-5711860

Website: www.pcb.com.pk

Posted on

Auditor Generals must ensure accountability of spent public funds during Covid-19 pandemic

Islamabad, July 02, 2021 (PPI-OT):ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) and INTOSAI Development Initiative (IDI) have teamed up to highlight the important role of Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) during times of crisis.

The Covid-19 pandemic required unprecedented public sector interventions in our societies and economies, globally. Governments had to react quickly and under significant pressure to protect both lives and citizens from the worst impacts of the pandemic.

SAIs are essential in holding governments to account in how they spend and allocate resources. To support SAIs, ACCA and IDI are releasing resources so that SAIs can carry out post-Covid-19 compliance audits that focus on transparency, accountability and inclusiveness.

Mike Suffield, director of ACCA’s Professional Insights says:

‘The nature of the current Covid-19 pandemic has meant public spending, in many jurisdictions, occurred through fast-tracked processes. As a result, risks of corruption, mismanagement and waste have certainly been increased.

‘This is where Supreme Audit Institutions must take the lead. They can help address concerns around equality and transparency as countries review how spending actually occurred – who received the benefits of this spending and who was left behind?

‘With the help of Auditors General, we can begin to learn lessons from the pandemic and ensure our responses in the future better consider the importance of transparency, accountability and inclusiveness.’

Einar Gorrissen, Director General of IDI adds:

‘To assist Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) during the COVID-19 outbreak, IDI launched the Global Cooperative Compliance Audits of the Transparency, Accountability and Inclusiveness of the Use of Emergency Funding for COVID-19 (TAI audits).

‘SAIs have been increasingly challenged throughout the last 15 months, not only to ensure that their governments are held to account in unprecedented circumstances, but to learn, apply and roll out complex compliance audits at a time when pressures on resources have been enormous.

‘The role of the SAI auditor has never been more important, relevant and visible than during this pandemic. Together, we can ensure that the lessons and learning of the past year impact positively on the transparency, accountability and inclusiveness of all SAI audits.’

The toolkit includes three policy briefs focusing on the following aspects of public spending during Covid-19 (available in English, French, Spanish and Arabic):

Leave no one behind: Covid-19 exacerbated inequalities, many of which were overlooked when socioeconomic packages to tackle the impacts of the pandemic were developed and implemented. Public audits can help shed light on whether legislative and regulatory frameworks account for such inequalities and if existing safeguards were complied with.

Procuring at speed: This brief focuses on the risks associated with emergency procurement during the Covid-19 crisis. Specifically, how public audits can evaluate if existing and emergency frameworks were effective.

Beyond keeping receipts: At times of crisis, accountability and transparency tend to take a back seat – making public audit a more difficult undertaking. However, to maintain public trust and protect public funds, governments must ensure all public spending has a clear audit trail.

For more information, contact:
Association of Chartered Certified Accountants Pakistan (ACCA)

Office No. 5, 2nd Floor, SNC Centre,

Fazal-ul-Haq Road, Blue Area, Islamabad, Pakistan

Tel: +92-51-111-222275

Fax: +92-51-2876605

Email: info@pk.accaglobal.com

Website: www.pakistan.accaglobal.com

 

 

Posted on

UVAS holds farewell ceremony on retirement of Prof Dr Irshad Hussain and Prof Dr Abdul Shakoor

Lahore, July 02, 2021 (PPI-OT): The University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences Lahore organised a farewell ceremony in the honour of Renowned Clinician/Senior Professor of Microbiology Prof Dr Irshad Hussain and Principal College of Veterinary Animal Sciences CVAS Jhang Prof Dr Abdul Shakoor on their retirement here at City Campus on Friday.

Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Nasim Ahmad presided over the ceremony while Former UVAS Vice-Chancellors Prof Dr Muhammad Nawaz, Prof Dr Talat Naseer Pasha, President Academic Staff Association (ASA) Prof Dr Aneela Zameer Durrani, Deans, Directors, Chairpersons from different departments and administrative officers were present on the occasion.

Director Institute of Microbiology Prof Dr Tahir Yaqub spoke about the contributions of Prof Dr Irshad Hussain, He served for 36 years in the field of veterinary science as a teacher of anatomy, microbiology and best clinician. Prof Irshad did his DVM as a silver medallist in 1984 and he got master degree in veterinary biology in 1985 and joined Collage of Veterinary Science as lecturer of anatomy. He also chaired the Department of Microbiology in 2006 and became professor in 2007. Prof Irshad acquired veterinary license from American Veterinary Medical Association in 2018. He remained Director of UVAS Quality Operation Lab.

Chairman Department of Clinical Science (CVAS) Prof Dr Iahtasham Khan spoke about the contribution of Prof Dr Abdul Shakoor. He has 32-year service. He joined the Livestock Department as Veterinary Officer in 1988 and after that joined University Agriculture Faisalabad (UAF) in 1989 as lecturer. Prof Dr Abdul Shakoor joined UVAS in 2008 as an Associate Professor in the Department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery in City Campus. Prof Dr Abdul Shakoor had major contribution especially to establish a veterinary clinic for practical training of young veterinarian at Ravi Campus Pattoki. Prof Dr Abdul Shakoor became Principal of Collage of Veterinary Animal Sciences CVAS Jhang in 2018.

Prof Dr Iahtasham said Prof Dr Abdul Shakoor popular among farming community due to having expertise of indigenous medicine of herbs and homeopathic. Speaking on the occasion, Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Nasim Ahmad lauded the services and contribution of both professors for the welfare of animals and imparting knowledge and technical skills to their students. He said through knowledge and skills both professors played a pivotal role not only in uplift of livestock sector but also for the progress of university as well as for UVAS students. Pro VC Prof Dr Masood Rabbani said both professors performed their duties with full of dedication and by imparting knowledge they produced hundreds of DVM doctors.

Addressing the audience, Prof Dr Irshad Hussain said that it is necessary the three basic components in teacher for imparting knowledge to his students knowledge, delivering lecture with confidence and evaluation. He said during service I never compromised on merit and quality of education. Prof Dr Abdul Shakoor thanked UVAS leadership for supporting and express his best wishes for the progress of UVAS.

For more information, contact:

Public Relations Officer

University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (UVAS)

Syed Abdul Qadir Jillani (Out Fall) Road,

Lahore – Pakistan

Tel: +92-42-99211374, +92-42-99211449

Email: webmaster@uvas.edu.pk

Website: www.uvas.edu.pk